PHC Honored Among "Top Conservative Colleges"

March 21st, 2012

From L to R: Dr. James Carr, executive VP of Harding University; Dr. Richard Jewell, president of Grove City College; PHC President Dr. Graham Walker; Dr. Burt Folsom, Professor of History at Hillsdale College; Dr. Jerry Davis, president of the College of the Ozarks

Once again, Patrick Henry College has been named among the Top Conservative Colleges in the nation by the Young America’s Foundation (YAF). The YAF list of conservative colleges is meant to serve as a counterpoint to the “America’s Best Colleges” list released each year by U.S. News & World Report and was created in response to frequently asked questions by parents and students seeking a conservative college.

“Many conservative students seek alternatives in higher education, but they may not be fully aware of the institutions that fit these criteria,” says the YAF on its website. “The ‘Top Conservative College’ list features institutions that proclaim, through their mission and programs, a dedication to discovering, maintaining, and strengthening the conservative values of their students.

“U.S. News does not rank the overall experience that colleges offer,” it continues. “That is why Young America’s Foundation presents the . . . list of institutions that offer a conservative experience for students. Young America’s Foundation deemed these institutions the best.”

Patrick Henry College was named, in no particular order, along with 15 other colleges and universities, including Hillsdale College, Grove City College, Liberty University, Colorado Christian University, Regent University, and Thomas More College.

Panel of college executives addresses a roomful of college students at YAF awards ceremony at Reagan Ranch

In its profile on PHC, the YAF highlighted the College’s classical Christian academics, apprenticeship learning, distinguished faculty, proximity to Washington, D.C., its comprehensive 63-credit core curriculum and an academic program that “rigorously grounds students in the great books of Western Civilization, history, philosophy, logic, and the foundations of freedom.”

Patrick Henry College President Dr. Graham Walker attended the awards ceremony at the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara this past weekend, at YAF’s west coast headquarters, where he delivered an address and served on a panel of college executives discussing conservatism in higher education and answering questions of students assembled for the event.

“This recognition affirms that our College is taking its place among the top conservative colleges in the country,” he said. “This also reflects that our peers in higher education recognize our leadership role in influencing students who will become the future conservatives in America.

“America needs to have a strong group of unashamedly conservative colleges,” Dr. Walker added. “Were it not for PHC and the other 14 colleges listed, higher education in America would be almost homogeneously liberal.”

Adds the YAF: “These colleges offer an alternative to the liberal status quo, because they allow and encourage conservative students to explore conservative ideas and authors. They offer coursework and scholarship in conservative thought and emphasize principles including smaller government, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. Furthermore, they avoid trends in academe by continuing to study Western Civilization instead of straying toward the studies of Marxism, feminism, sexuality, postmodernism, and other distractions that do not give students a complete understanding of our country, our culture, and its founding principles.”